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Live an Altruistic Lifestyle by Caring for Animals

Posted on 06/11/2018

If you strive to live an altruistic lifestyle, you know how challenging, yet rewarding the experience can be. Altruism means making sacrifices in order to meet other individuals’ needs, but it also involves receiving that love and sacrifice back into your own life tenfold. However, living an altruistic lifestyle doesn’t simply end with human beings.

Instead, it stretches and expands throughout every aspect of your life, encompassing others, your community and even animals. Caring for animals is an important part of living an altruistic lifestyle. Today we explore how you can live more altruistically with the animals in your day-to-day life.

Volunteer at a shelter.
One of the simplest and most exciting ways to care for animals is by volunteering at a local animal shelter in your area. Check with any shelters near you to see if they need assistance, and learn more about how you can get involved. Volunteer by raising money, taking care of the animals or even rescuing any pets in need. When you volunteer at an animal shelter, you make a genuine difference in an animal’s life and can serve as a positive force for good.

Adopt locally.
Speaking of animal shelters, if you or someone you know is in the market for a new furry friend for the family, why not adopt locally? Avoid the pet store and head straight for the shelter. Shelter animals can often come from harmful and distressing backgrounds, and spend a long time waiting for the right family to come around and adopt them. You can be a renewed hope for a little furball. Adopt an animal yourself or promote adoption to friends and family in your life who are looking for a new pet.

Watch what you eat.
You don’t have to be vegan or vegetarian to a live a loving lifestyle towards animals, but you can help make an impact by watching what you eat. If you’re not ready to make a drastic change in your diet, take small steps to ensure the wellbeing of animals for food. For instance, focus on buying meat products from local farms which come from cruelty-free environments. Or, lessen your intake of meat products and strive to live more plant-based. This way, you can continue to live the lifestyle you want, while still caring for the animals involved.

Go fur-free.
Of course, what better way to care for animals than by committing to going fur-free? Make the pledge to go fur-free in your day-to-day life and avoid fur and skin clothing items, such as mittens, boots or handbags. Faux fur has recently become more and more popular in the fashion world, and it’s all because activists have made a conscious decision to protect animals from harm. Be a part of this movement by committing to live fur-free.

Buy cruelty-free.
Following a fur-free lifestyle is the cruelty-free lifestyle. Across the world, animals of all kinds are blinded, poisoned and burned as human products like soap, shampoo and lip balm are tested on them. If you want to live a more altruistic lifestyle by caring for animals, take a stand against these harmful lab testings. Before you buy any beauty or personal care products, check the packaging to ensure they’re cruelty-free.

Encourage spaying and neutering.
Every year, animals of all kinds are put down in shelters or killed on the streets due to issues with overpopulation. You can help reduce these issues by spaying or neutering your pets, and encouraging neighbors and friends to do the same. Learn more about spaying and neutering and search for affordable options in your area.

When it comes to living a more altruistic lifestyle, compassion doesn’t simply stop at human beings. Instill altruism throughout your entire life by consciously taking a step to care for the animals around you.

The Center for Alcohol and Drug Resources, a program of Children's Aid and Family Services, is a recognized leader in community and school-based education programs about alcohol and drug abuse prevention. Founded in 1979, The Center provides extensive resources, information, expertise and support in understanding and preventing alcohol and drug abuse and advocates for responsive prevention and treatment services. The Center offers evidence-based programs to communities and schools, as well as a full-service resource and referral center. The Center has programs, services and workshops for people of all ages to strengthen families and promote healthy lifestyles. The Center is the official Prevention Resource Center for Bergen County and towns East of the Passaic River in Passaic County.

Heroin: The Silent Epidemic

It has been all over the local news. There has been a dramatic increase in teenagers and young adults using heroin, especially in Bergen County. Below are a series of resources and articles for parents.

Watch the Bergen County Prevention Coalition PSA entitled The voices of Addiction of Bergen County. The video tells the stories of three people who live in Bergen County, New Jersey; a mom whose 21 year-old daughter passed away after overdosing on heroin, a young man incarcerated in the Bergen County jail who was a high school track star and began using painkillers when he broke his arm in several places, and a young woman who began using heroin when she was 17 and is now in a recovery program. Their stories began similarly - drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana were fun things to do and not a big deal or anything that was of great concern. The link between early use and the use of pills and heroin are what followed with each story’s outcome different from the other; with death, incarceration, and recovery.

We want you to know that they are not alone in managing issues related to addiction, there are resources available for help and support. Reach out to The Center for Drug and Alcohol Resources at 201-740-7069 or thecenter@cafsnj.org for more information or to access resources.

Turn in your expired or unused prescriptions for safe disposal.There are many sites throughout Bergen County where you can safely dispose of your expired or used prescriptions. See the link below.

The Center for Alcohol and Drug Resources was awarded a contract from the New Jersey Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services, to develop the Opioid Overdose Recovery Program in Bergen County. The purpose of the Program is to provide one-on-one assistance in emergency rooms by an individual in long-term recovery to those who have overdosed on opioids and were given Narcan by a law enforcement official, EMT or hospital staff, to end the ‘revolving door’ of cycling in and out of drug overdose situations. OORP can be dispatched 24 hours a day 7 days per week when Narcan is administered.

TCADR Self-Administered Screening Tool

The Center for Alcohol and Drug Resources (TCADR) has launched a web-based interactive screening tool designed to provide users with appropriate referrals to addiction treatment services. TCADR Self-Administered Screening Tool guides the user through a short series of questions and, based on the responses, generates two referrals to treatment providers local to Bergen County, New Jersey and its immediate vicinity. While not intended to diagnose a substance abuse problem, the tool utilizes the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) Patient Placement Criteria to provide referrals to programs that are appropriate to the user's needs. The ASAM Criteria is the most widely used and comprehensive criteria used for the placement of individuals with alcohol and drug problems. The tool is not designed to take the place of an assessment by an addictions professional, but it will take the guesswork out of where to turn for help.